So, after learning about the differences between western and eastern style brewing (mainly for the TGY that I picked up last week), I decided to try steeping my Lapsang Souchong star (from DAVIDsTea) in this same fashion to see if it mellowed out the smokey taste a bit. Not that I did not enjoy the smokey taste as it was, but I wondered if maybe I was missing some subtle flavors behind all that smoke.

So, I boiled water, let it sit for thirty seconds to bring the temp. down a bit, then poured 250ml over 3tsp of leaves. steeped for one minute. Much lighter on the smoke taste, and brought out some flavors I can't quite name that balanced it quite a bit. I did not even need sweetener in it (which I usually use)

Am I imagining things on this, or has anyone else here brewed it this way. Any recommendations for alterations to the process I did?

I've never done a gongfu on lapsang souchong, but I have with other black teas.

My usual black tea guide to myself would be 1/3-1/2 filled gaiwan, flash rinsed with boiling water, brewed once for 30 seconds, then brewed for 15-20 seconds, then 30+ sec for subsequent infusions! Usually a 120/60mL gaiwan!

It sounds about right that the smoke would mellow, the short infusions might not give it time to exert it's dominance over the flavours from the tea! Which sounds more enjoyable to be honest!

If I was to suggest anything I'd say take the scale down to under 150mL of water if you can (Do you have a gaiwan?) and experiment with that without wasting too much tea You'll find it easiest to control at the 100mL level I think! Happy brewing!

mcrdotcom wrote:I've never done a gongfu on lapsang souchong, but I have with other black teas.

My usual black tea guide to myself would be 1/3-1/2 filled gaiwan, flash rinsed with boiling water, brewed once for 30 seconds, then brewed for 15-20 seconds, then 30+ sec for subsequent infusions! Usually a 120/60mL gaiwan!

It sounds about right that the smoke would mellow, the short infusions might not give it time to exert it's dominance over the flavours from the tea! Which sounds more enjoyable to be honest!

If I was to suggest anything I'd say take the scale down to under 150mL of water if you can (Do you have a gaiwan?) and experiment with that without wasting too much tea You'll find it easiest to control at the 100mL level I think! Happy brewing!

Thanks. I do not have a gaiwan yet, but it is on my wishlist. I'm hoping to get one for christmas, or getting one for myself next month. All I have right now is a couple of small(500ml) teapots that I've been using for this. I'll definitely try your suggestion once I've acquired a gaiwan, and post the results here. (good news is that I found out Distinctly tea here in town carries gaiwans at a not too bad price - $20 - so it won't be a lot of waiting for shipping )